STOCKPORT | GREATER MANCHESTER | CHESHIRE

Sexual Offence Solicitors

Not only your reputation but also your liberty may be at stake! You should not face prosecution for an offence of this type without legal representation. Call us for immediate advice by telephone on 0161 477 1121.

Our Award-Winning Solicitors.

Our Solicitors can provide representation during all stages of investigation and proceedings.

When dealing with Morton’s Solicitors you should know you are dealing with not only a friendly, professional team, but also an award-winning team.

Specialties

Common Sexual Offences

These include very recent allegations, but since the Saville inquiry and Operation YewTree many more historic allegations are coming to light.

Most sexual offences upon conviction have a requirement that you sign on the Sex Offenders Register and the court could make a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). This could have very serious and long lasting ramifications.

If you are facing such allegations, we want to hear from you on0161 477 1121

RAPE

Sexual activity - sexual assault

When you are accused of sexual activity, sexual assault or sexual indecency it can be extremely harrowing. Read More…

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INDECENT IMAGES

The accusation and stigma associated with indecent image offences can have a traumatising effect and personal, family and work life. Read More…

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GROOMING

Following the Saville inquiry and Operation YewTree many more historic allegations are coming to light. Not only your reputation but also your liberty may be at stake. Read More…

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SEXUal EXploitation

These serious allegations require a high level of expertise to refute. Read More…

What Constitutes A Sexual Offence?

Something is ‘sexual’ if the reasonable, average normal person would consider it so.

The issue of consent is a complex one. There are circumstances when the court will presume that consent did not exist (such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault). Such circumstances are:

• if violence has been used against the victim or another person,

• if the victim has been held captive,

• if the victim was unconscious,

• if the victim was physically disabled,

• if the victim was under the influence of a substance that overpowered them.

The voluntary consumption of alcohol is often a factor. If the person making the allegation was drunk at the time of the incident it does not automatically mean that consent does not exist.

Someone is said to have consented if they agree by choice and have the freedom and capacity to make that choice.

Drunken consent can still be consent. However it should be noted that consumption of a large quantity of alcohol could lead to a presumption that the person was incapable of informed consent.

If consent did not in fact exist there may still be a defence of having a “reasonable belief” in consent. This means that someone must honestly believe that consent exists and this belief must be one that a normal person on the street would hold.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTs!

Have You Been Invited To Attend An Interview?

Have you been invited to attend a police station? Some of the most important decisions made in relation to a case are made at the police station. If Morton’s Solicitors are involved at an early stage of an investigation, we are often able to affect the outcome.

You are not obliged to say anything to the police and we advise all clients to maintain their right to silence until they speak with us.

A case can proceed solely on admissions made to the police without the need for witnesses to ever attend court.

You are entitled to have a solicitor present free of charge at any police interview. This is true for what may seem to be the most trivial offences, e.g. a minor sexual touching such as a kiss. You should never be interviewed without legal representation.

Defending an Allegation

• Expert cross examination of the alleged victim and any other prosecution witnesses,

• Detailed expert analysis of the evidence

• Detailed expert analysis of the unused prosecution material

• Third party requests for disclosure e.g. such as obtaining the victims social services records or medical records

• The use of specialist forensic scientists, e. g. medical experts who specialise in causation of injuries, psychiatry, psychology

• Site visits

• Preparing defence witness statements

Was the offence allegedly committed a domestic incident? The definition of what counts as “domestic” is far reaching. It also has certain consequences, most significantly:-

• The case will be treated more seriously by the court

• You could be restricted from living at, or attending the family home (by virtue of strict bail conditions)

• You could be restricted from having contact with your partner and/or unsupervised contact with your children

• The case will be highly likely to proceed, despite the wishes of the victim

Choosing Morton’s Solicitors Puts You In Safe Hands

Morton’s solicitors have a proven track record of successfully defending even the most serious sexual offences.

In this video, you can see Simon Morton introduce Rachel Shenton, a specialist sexual-offence barrister from 18 St John Street Chambers, who kindly agreed to discuss this specialist area of criminal law requiring expert legal representation.

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